The Tampa Bay Lightning will celebrate their 2014 Fan Fest on Saturday, Sep. 27. The Fan Fest runs from 9am to 3:30pm at Amalie Arena in preparation for the 2014-15 season.

The annual Fan Fest is “free and open to the public.” There will be games, player interviews, autograph sessions, and the big reveal of the Lightning’s Third Jersey for the 2014-15 season. There will also be a game-used equipment sale.

The first 3,500 fans will receive a free t-shirt.

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Lightning players will sign autographs in two 45-minute shifts beginning at 1:30 p.m. and 2:15 p.m. Lightning Season Ticket Members will have an exclusive autograph signing session on the club level concourse and a private question and answer session in the Firestick Grill (on the club level) during the autograph sessions.

Fans attending Monday’s Tampa Bay Lightning home game will receive a 10th anniversary replica Stanley Cup ring. The in-arena giveaway is part of the Lightning’s “Stanley Cup Anniversary Weekend.”

The Mar. 17, 2014 Lightning game will feature the visiting Vancouver Canucks, who are led by the Lightning’s 2004 coach John Tortorella. Fans attending the game will also have the chance to see the Stanley Cup.

The Stanley Cup itself will be in Tampa from Sunday through Tuesday. Along with an appearance at the Monday game, the Cup will be on display at several locations throughout Tampa during the three-day weekend.

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Fans will have the chance to see the Stanley Cup on Ford Thunder Alley beginning at 11:30 a.m. prior to the ‘Sunday with Stanley’ event being held at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Sunday afternoon. The Cup will also make stops at Florida Blue Hospital, Chase Bank, the Children’s Medical Center at Tampa General Hospital and the Children’s Home Visit.

Former NHL winger Shawn Burr has passed away. A pro player with the Detroit Red Wings, Tampa Bay Lightning and San Jose Sharks, the Sarnia, ON native passed away on Aug. 5, 2013 at age 47.

A standout junior and captain with the Kitchener Rangers, he was the seventh overall draft pick in the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. Then as a minor pro, he won the Calder Cup with the American League’s Adirondack Red Wings. From there, he was up in the NHL for good.

Before he was 25 years old, he had three 20-goal season with the Red Wings. By the time he left the club in 1995, he was a three-time division winner, a one-time Presidents’ Trophy winner (best record during the regular season), and one-time Clarence Campbell Bowl winner (reaching the Stanley Cup final in 1995).

In 1995-96, he helped the Tampa Bay Lightning reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

The Tampa Bay Lightning will pay tribute to former owner Phil Esposito on Dec. 31, 2011. The tribute will be in the form of a life-size bronze statue of the five-time-scoring-champ-turned-expansion-owner.

“I think it’s the fourth-greatest thing I’ve ever achieved in hockey,” said Esposito on NHL.com. “First is my first Stanley Cup, then having my number retired in Boston Garden, which was unbelievable, and third was hearing (then commissioner) John Ziegler say, ‘The Tampa Bay franchise is awarded to Phil Esposito and the Tampa Bay Hockey Group.’ I’ll never forget that. Now this. It’s like it’s come full circle.”

According to the Lightning, it was original season-ticket holder Steve Stuart that raised the funds and “got the project under way.” The statue will feature Esposito in a suit and tie while holding a hockey stick. He has his Lightning Stanley Cup ring on one hand and his 1969-70 Boston Bruins Stanley Cup ring on the other hand.

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When current owner Jeff Vinik and chief executive officer Tod Leiweke were approached about the statue, they reacted enthusiastically.

“The question to us was, would the Lightning want a statue of Phil?” Leiweke said. “Our reaction was totally thumbs up. We loved it.”

The Lightning have just completed a $40 million dollar facelift on their building, which they will rename the Tampa Bay Times Forum on the same night.

“This is the guy, if not for Phil, I’m not sure there is a building,” Leiweke told NHL.com. “It was the right thing to do, and it’s the right time to do it.”

Esposito remains affiliated with the team he founded, serving currently as a radio analyst and vice president of corporate relations.

“This way this new organization treats me here is unbelievable,” Esposito said. “They treat me with respect and they include me in a lot of things. I’m so pleased.

“I told the sculptor, ‘Make this as solid as you can, so in case of a hurricane, the building may go, but the statue will still be there.’”

A number of hockey notables will be on hand for the ceremony.

“I think a lot of people important to Phil will be there,” Leiweke said, “and I think Phil will realize that he’s touched a lot of people’s lives through his efforts to bring hockey to Florida.”

As to the statue itself, the early reviews are enthusiastic.

“The artist did a perfect job,” Leiweke said. “It’ll be a great attraction for the building.”

Said Esposito: “I’ve seen it and it really looks good, except my ears look huge.”

The MeiGray Group has announced that Tampa Bay Lightning game-used jerseys will again be available via the MGG Game-Worn Jersey Authentication Program. Lightning jerseys had previously been available via MGG from 2002 to 2006.

“We’re delighted to be working with the Lightning again,” said MGG President Barry Meisel. “Tampa Bay is one of the league’s hot teams, with young guys like Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos. They’ve got a great Third jersey. Veteran superstars like (Vincent) Lecavalier and (Martin) St-Louis are always on collectors’ want lists.”

The Lightning will be wearing three sets of homes, three sets of roads, and one set of Thirds in 2009-10. Several players will wear two jerseys in Set one, with those players reported on MeiGray’s annual
Population Report. Since the season has already commenced, MeiGray will authenticate the first set of homes, roads and Thirds once they have been completely worn by the Lightning players. The second and third sets will be security-tagged and authenticated as per usual program procedures so their use can be tracked during the season.

“We are happy to make this great opportunity available to our fans,” said Lightning Executive Vice President and General Manager Brian Lawton. “We have some of the most exciting and notable players in the NHL on our roster and our feedback tells us our fans would like to have the opportunity to secure jerseys from players like Hedman, Stamkos, St. Louis, Lecavalier and their teammates. The best way to make them available is through the MeiGray program. We are pleased to be working with them once again. They are the industry leader.”